Dominic went off to see some Ricoh rugby and I decided to luxuriate at home with some new material, my sewing machine and a packet of chocolate chip cookies!

Dominic had a couple of very busy weeks and was out for five days on the trot with Friday evening or should I say Saturday morning causing some damage! Unfortunately he incorrectly set his alarm for a meeting on Friday afternoon which went off at 4:30 AM on Saturday morning. Needless to say he didn't hear it!

Had been trying to book a holiday for May and got in touch with a travel agent I said I wanted mid to low range hotels but at £500 a night I don't think her definition of mid-range quite matches mine!  


For Christmas I got Dominic a Japanese cookery lesson. We headed off to Mayuko's Little kitchen. It turned out to be just us two. Mayuko was very welcoming and started off with the basics of what ingredients were and then we got chopping and cooking. Her sister joined us. She makes clothes and had lived in the London. We swapped stories of the various courses we had done at Morley College!

Cooked by the man himself!

That evening Leslie was on her way back to London and was booked into chez nous for 4 nights. Sunday we went to lunch at a photographer's home. He cooked up a storm and was full of chat of the amazing people he had photographed and met and his home was full of stuff.(Note to Saskia - it looked as though the burglars had been!)

We went to Harajuku where women dress up as schoolgirls and popped into McDonald's to have their new fries with chocolate sauce.  A different kind of culture!  

Fries with milk chocolate and white chocolate sauce!

Went to Mori art museum to see Marakame and have a look at the view before going to find some wagyu beef. 



Dominic had Monday off work to be the tour guide doing bonsai and dolls.

I had Tuesday off... Leslie and Dominic discovered a fabulous pen shop the night before which is about 500 metres from home. Leslie and I spent over an hour in the shop before heading to do the plan for the day. First up origami centre next electric town. 

Bad timing - most of the time the guy was not looking at what he was doing!

We went to a place called honey and toast - a 12 cm loaf of bread. It's been toasted so it's crispy. The inside has been taken out and chopped into big crispy croutons these are then put back into the loaf and then a variety of ice cream and sauce is put on top; in our case banana ice cream chocolate sauce and bananas. OMG it was delicious. How do the Japanese women stay so slim?  

Tricky to resist!

On the way home we went to see some illuminations - most finish 14 Feb. 

Next week shrine central……to add some culture rather than just food!

January is here....stayed at The Peninsula! Interviewed on tv!

January started in a whirl of lessons and a couple of new students.

Through someone at church I got a very part-time job at Tsukuba School for the visually impaired. Very excited about it. Ironically I'd been to a volunteer group meeting and the thing that appealed to me most was doing English interview practice with 18-year-olds as part of their university application.  It's at the same place so I get to be more involved and paid!

January11th is a public holiday so another four day week!  Dominic had booked a weekend away on the Izu Peninsula, about 50 minutes on the train from Tokyo. Volcanic lava flow has created a rocky coastline, with lovely beaches further south.  What is strange is that ugly horrible buildings are right beside these beautiful beaches.  

 One beach had a similar rock formation to the Giants Causeway, perhaps Finn came here on his holidays? 

We joined the locals enjoying bowls of fish and noodles.

The area is famous for hot springs.  One ryokan (a type of traditional Japanese inn that originated in the Edo period (1603–1868). They typically feature tatami-matted rooms and communal baths) has a wooden 1,000 people bath.

Men and women normally bathe separately (you are starkers).  But in some places the women can go into the men's!! The assumption is that the men will be lucky if this happens. The reverse is not true and is not allowed!   It was very confusing but I went into the men's side. Women are allowed to wear a towel which is weird. One                                                 woman had a specifically designed outfit for the occasion.

The next day we got to take a chairlift up to the rim of the volcano. The bottom of the crater is used for archery!  We got a good view of Mount Fuji or Fuji-san as they call him.

The area is also famous for dried fish and there are various contraptions all around town for this.  However we went to a place recommended for okonomiyaki pancakes and ordered two jumbo ones. The female owner looked alarmed and said that one would be enough. She was right but it only cost about four quid so not sure we were her most profitable customers that evening.

We stayed at a hostel which was a 100-year-old wooden building, basically a hotel without any ensuite rooms!  I loved it and we had a massive room. It had a few communal rooms too which looked out over the river and there was a very small strip of decking.  In typical Japanese style this tiny area had been used to create a lovely garden.

We went to another mixed bathing place.  Accessed via a funicular railway!  We had the place to ourselves. It really felt as though we were on holiday.  A tenner to have exclusive use of it for an hour!

 The following weekend we went to a temple known for its number of cat statues. Shop owners buy a statue and leave it at the temple believing that it will bring their business money and good luck.  A TV crew were there interviewing foreigners to find out why they were visiting the temple and what they did there.  They asked us a few questions and then asked if they could follow us around the temple. That was weird!

Perhaps they thought he was Harrison Ford?

Festive season

Well Christmas Day was a normal working day in Japan. But not for us!

Before Christmas we went out to a tiny cafe - one big table seating about 12.  It does world breakfasts.  On offer was English and French.  The French one had a boiled egg served in an egg cup with long pieces of toasted baguette. Surely this is more English egg and soldiers?  Our neighbours chose the french breakfast and were given copious instructions by the waitress on how to take the top off the egg! They gingerly tapped around the egg with a knife.  It was a new experience for them.  It caused much excitement and laughter. This explains why I haven't seen an egg cup in Tokyo because they don't exist!

Having some extra time in a metro station I decided to go to the stand-up noodle bar.  Was one of those places where you put your money in the machine press a button to make a choice and it spits out a ticket that you then present to the staff dishing out the food. Luckily I spotted the English menu button so choosing what I wanted was easy even though I didn't know what it was!

There were seats! So I grabbed one. The way to eat noodles is to get hold of some with your chopsticks and then slurp them up. Putting my head over a massive bowl of incredibly hot noodles is bound to make my nose run.  We are wondering if when the locals are slurping food they are managing also to snort up their snot. They are not fans of people blowing their nose, we believe they think it is disgusting, but I had to several times over!  

Dominic decided that he wanted to have a traditional Christmas lunch. Sprouts very expensive. A friend paid £4 for a parsnip.  I've only recently decided that I need to stop comparing UK and Japan prices for fruit and veg or we will end up with scurvy! 

Jo arrived in and I had my second Christmas dinner of the day with her and Dominic launched into the Christmas pudding! 

We decided a breath of fresh air would be good and we went to see the Christmas lights. Luckily we got there just before they were switched off for the year at 10pm. 

On Boxing day we went to an area that sells all kinds of kitchen stuff and then on to the temple that has a busy street of market traders on its approach.

Next day off on the Shinkansen to Kyoto.  It was cold there and we ended up buying thermals! We templed ourselves out.

We also found a fantastic cafe doing ice creams.(yes I know we should have been looking for hot soup!)  At the entrance they have a display showing the products available in fake food format. They look fantastic so we decided to try the real thing!

We headed back to Tokyo to see what happens over New Year.  We met up with Matt a friend of a friend and and wondered round a part of town new to us.   We said we'd be having noodles at home with tempura like the locals and Matt offered to make sushi as well.

Very impressive it was too. I put a bit of the skin of a citrus fruit yuzu in with the noodles, you can also put the whole fruit in your bath to keep you healthy.

So full of food and alcohol we headed off to the local temple to hear the bell been rung 108 times. Apparently there are 108 things we can do wrong and ringing the bell gets rid of them.  We arrived and were told to get a number. We soon realised that between us we would be ringing number 63 and 64 gongs!  We watched to see how others rang the bell so that we did not embarrass ourselves.

We then walked up to the massive temple and joined the throng of people who were queuing up to spend 30 seconds in front of the temple.  We thought it might take an hour to get to the front of the queue so we decided to head home.

We went to a great exhibition at the MORI  Museum by Takeshi Murakami one of the few places that are open every year over New Year and went up the tower to get a view over town.  Then we went to Gonpachi the restaurant associated with Kill Bill.

We spent ages looking for one of the Japanese photo booth places only to be told it had shut down and to be shown the empty site amongst the buildings!

There is a whole area known as fabric town but as it's mainly wholesalers it too was shut. However week three I found a fabric store that I think is really good so Jo and I headed out there on Sunday. We had intended to go somewhere else as well but we did three floors of the shop and then had a break for coffee and cake. We then headed back in to do the final two floors and make our purchases!  It was great fun - Jo advised that a stripy fabric which had illustrations of otters, armadillos and badgers would not suit me, the same for the spotty fabric with pink pugs on it.  I settled for the flowers with a polar bear poking his head through them. We made it home just in time to go out for dinner with Kayo the person I met through a cultural exchange website.

We put Jo on the airport train just before 7am and we waited on the same platform to get a train to Kamakura to see the big Buddha and the sea. Glorious weather so much so Dominic zipped off the bottom of his trousers!  

Look at the flavours!

 

Drying fish on a bike!

Crikey it is already December.

We have not sorted out Christmas cards yet so maybe they won't happen. instead perhaps we should adopt the Japanese tradition of Happy New Year cards - that should buy us a few extra weeks!

Okay so here goes I was teaching a student. The topic was sleeping. I found some audio for her to listen to. She said she was happy with all the vocabulary but then could not make sense of the sentence " I get up in the middle of the night to go for a wee."  The dictionary had said wee meant small!

We cover this and then the conversation moved on. Student mentioned she'd been stung by jellyfish. I thought she would be interested in the first aid myth. If you're stung by a jellyfish you need to wee on it.  I tried to explain this but it was tricky! Eventually I ended up drawing. Here it is!  I am not sure BRC would be happy with this focus on what NOT to do, but I did tell her what she should do too, although that did not take as long or require my illustration skills.

Next washing.  Talking about having a bath before bed being relaxing. I told the student I have a shower in the morning. She asked did I have a bath in the evening. When I said no she was absolutely horrified. And I mean horrified. She said if I got into bed without bathing my sheets would be dirty and I would need to wash them often.  We talked about babies and kids having baths in the evening. I wondered when the change from evening to morning happens. I did not dare mention teenage boys and perhaps them not washing in the evening or in the morning!

Did I tell you I have some wheels? After a few weeks in Tokyo I really wanted a bike. On craigslist they were advertised but went before I even had a chance to reply or they were in some far-flung part of Tokyo from which I was not confident to cycle back from. I got a second hand bike from a shop.  It has a lock, front light,  and they registered it for me, alI for £50. I got back home and cycled round the various food vans in the area to make my lunch choice. I was supposed be doing some interview prep in the afternoon but I was just so excited with my purchase that I couldn't concentrate!

Any suggestions for a name gratefully received!

Well I had a couple of random meetings this week.  I went out for dinner with someone who who I had had a quick chat with whilst washing up at a cookery school session. I commented to Makiko that I was amazed that there is always someone standing outside the Kentucky Fried Chicken booth on the High Street...she then told me that for Christmas Eve (a bigger day here than the 25th) that her Mum and Dad tried to get Kentucky Fried Chicken but were told that they couldn't as they hadn't  booked in advance!!!!  The reason is that ovens in Japanese homes aren't very big so they cannot fit in all the stuff they want to cook so revert to buying it...in this case from the great man himself Colonel Sanders!

...and then I met up with Kayo, she's got a masters in History of Art and is applying to do a PHD - or is it the other way around?  I found Kayo by signing up to a website for cultural exchange.  I asked them to find me a Japanese teacher who could teach me and I in exchange would help them with their English.  And she's heading for Scotland to further her studies.  Apparently in the 1800 s there was a connection with Scotland and Japan, and some of the Glasgow boys art group went over to Japan...

A club in town runs various classes....the current teacher for the Japanese womens' English discussion group is leaving.  I found out about this opportunity on day 3.  I tried to find out details, had arranged to meet the teacher etc etc and then I was contacted to say my application was late!  Not sure how but they allowed me to put in my proposal "late".

I also met up with lovely Anujah from the British Red Cross who has been in Tokyo for 3 years and is mad about the octopus balls from Osaka. I am hoping to go vintage clothes shopping with her :)

A while ago (well not that long because I was already in Tokyo) I saw an English language teaching job ad for the business arm of Berlitz.  Applications closed the next day so I quickly submitted mine. I was asked for an interview which would require me to do a trial lesson.  Another email asked me to confirm my attendance as apparently a lot of applicants when they find out that they need to do a sample lesson cancel.....does make me wonder why they are applying?!  Business attire was required...mmm this was going to be tricky! 

.......I got offered the job!!!!   I am very excited about it and go in next week for a half day induction to find out more.   

The church bazaar - Dominic helped man the cake stand and I was on the white elephant stand the aim of which was to get rid of stuff! I walked in at 9am for my stint and within minutes had bought several notebooks and a dry erase board!  The number of people that looked disappointed when seeing the sold sign on it was interesting....especially an older Japanese lady who seemed to get excited and then visibly slumped when someone told her it was sold!

David from Ireland came to stay a couple of nights and he took us to a print museum just a short walk away, and also advised us about an antique fair on Sunday as well as loads of other things, he's lived in Tokyo and seemed to digest the entire what's on in town calendar! Also went to Gonpachi the restaurant featured in Kill Bill.  Dominic did not wear the outfit.

Our stuff from the UK showed up.  So how come our flat in London is half the size of where we are living yet our things barely fit in this place?  Perhaps this question will feature in next years GCSE maths paper?

Tune in next time to find out what happened when I told a student of my washing habits.....and a first aid myth!

We had a full on week. Dominic was out most nights and I was out most days being sociable! We had a long weekend so went to Osaka. Famous for food it's motto is something like eat till you die!

So we headed straight for noodles.

We booked to stay at an Airbnb. A flat in a non-descript Tower block. The guy had had everything ripped out so it was concrete walls and visible ventilation tubes. We liked it.

In the evening we went to candle festival. We decorated our own candle tops so contributed to the overall display! Heading back into town the place was in full Halloween mode. They don't limit themselves to Halloween themed things, any dressing up is good.

In our view the winners were these blokes...would have loved to have been there when they decided on their outfits!

We met the lovely Tomoyo at Catherine and Patrick's wedding.  She lives near Osaka.
We got to spend a day with her and had a great time doing loads of things. Visited a print museum and did some printing of course.  Dominic got so excited he decided to call Catherine and Patrick to tell them of our adventures with their friend.  He got the times a bit mixed up and rang them at 5am, he thought it was 10am.  Very sorry both . 

Ate balls of batter filled with squid (takoyaki)served in different ways. Osaka is famous for its balls...

Octopus ball selection!

It's a wrap!

Visited Kitchen Street -it does what it says! Went into one shop which was packed with stuff. Some piles of plates and dishes looked as though they were about to fall over. So we walked around the place gingerly. Especially me! Get it?
We then stopped for a beer at a stand up bar. But just to be contrary we sat down!

Smelt the roses at the island park and then went for dinner of dumplings.

Next day we went to the instant Ramen museum. Despite being packed with kids on school trips we were soon decorating our own Cup Noodles containers and selecting our flavours and contents! Brilliant. They seal them up and shrink wrap them so you can take them home. Denise I was thinking of you!

In the afternoon I'd arranged a volunteer guide to take us wherever he liked in town. He took us to the sky tower. He suggested we stop a few floors below the top from where you could see very little but it was free.I wonder where he doesn't like in town? We paid for us and him to go to the top so that we could actually see something of the view!

We did a whistle stop tour of the castle and a museum and then ended up in the old town.

In the evening we headed off for Kushi Katsu - another food item that Osaka is famous for. Basically deep-fried things on sticks. Even tomatoes aren't saved from this process! However raw cabbage is served on the side to create a balanced meal!

Before leaving town we headed for the aquarium. In the summer when its boiling here the penguin display with constantly falling icy snow must attract the human crowd! 

Month one - things I've noticed

Things I've noticed one month in...

All bus drivers have a microphone to talk to us passengers! And they wait at the stop in order to keep to the schedule.... this is for a bus that runs every 10 minutes!

Zoo keepers in Tokyo are better climbers than Malayan bears.  The bear went round retrieving the food the keeper had put out for him but found climbing up to it very difficult!

At first the Metro seemed daunting but you soon realise that there is a whole load of information. All the stations on each line are numbered. On the platform they tell you if you are going in the direction of the station numbers going up or down. They also have info as to which carriage you should be in if you want to change to Y line at X Station. Denise- with that map in your diary it will be a doddle!

Also at the Metro stations are maps as to the exits. If you get out of the wrong one or even at the right one it sometimes feels as though you are walking for miles. 

There seem to be more people asleep on the Tokyo metro than on the London Underground.  A full survey is needed but said observation already backed up by another UK bod so it must be a fact!

Crossing at a traffic light controlled junction? Even if there is nothing in sight I'm now reticent to cross!

Donki (Don Quijote) sells everything it is the equivalent to Woolworths on acid!  Needed a smaller suitcase to conform with reduced take on luggage so I popped into Donki and got one for a tenner. Maybe not one for Dave, a big fan of a quality item! Or Ian's customers...

Rubbish bins - there aren't any on the streets.  The nearest thing you'll find is recycling for bottles and cans next to some of the many drinks machines and recycling inside some of the many corner shops.  We've got 3 within 200 metres.